Andrew Tate detained in Romania, handed UK arrest warrant, spokesperson says
British-US former professional kickboxer and controversial influencer Andrew Tate (C) and his brother Tristan Tate (back R) speak to journalists after having been released from detention in Bucharest, Romania on March 12, 2024, after they appeared in
Online influencer Andrew Tate was detained in Romania and delivered an arrest warrant from British authorities, his spokesperson said Tuesday.
Tate, 37, and his brother Tristan, 35, were detained Monday over alleged sexual aggression in a United Kingdom case dating back to 2012-2015, according to Tate's spokesperson Mateea Petrescu.
Petrescu said the Bucharest Court of Appeal is slated to make a "pivotal decision" Tuesday on if it will execute the warrants issued by U.K.'s Westminster Magistrates Court.
Four women had reported Tate to the U.K. authorities for alleged sexual violence and physical abuse, but the Crown Prosecution Service declined to prosecute him. The alleged victims then used crowdfunding to support their legal costs amid their pursuit of a civil case against him.
"We handed over our evidence about the horrific acts of violence we endured and waited for action. But four years later we were told the U.K. authorities would not prosecute him," the fundraiser reads. "It's our one remaining route to hold him accountable."
In a separate case in Romania, Tate is charged with rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women. Tate, his brother and two Romanian women were arrested near Bucharest in December 2022. Romanian prosecutors formally indicted all four in June, although they deny the allegations.
Tate has repeatedly claimed that the Romanian prosecutors' case against him lacks any evidence and that there is a political conspiracy to silence him. He was previously banned from various prominent social media platforms for expressing misogynistic views and for hate speech.
The social media influencer has said that he moved to Romania in response to the Me Too movement, in part, due to the country's lax rape laws.
"This is probably 40% of the reason I moved to Romania," he once said in a video. "I'm not a f---ing rapist, but I like the idea of just being able to do what I want. I like being free."
Following the arrests in Romania, Tate and his brother were held for three months in police detention before being moved to house arrest. They were later restricted to the areas of Bucharest Municipality and nearby Ilfov County.
In January, Tate won an appeal challenging Romanian authorities' seizure of his assets, which were confiscated in the weeks following his arrest. Romanian authorities had seized 15 luxury cars, 14 designer watches and cash in various currencies worth an estimated 3.6 million euros, or $3.9 million.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.